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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Craving Magenta: A Visual Journal

Why Magenta
Not one to take things at face value, I wanted to
know if my craving for magenta was deeper than just wanting to
experience some warmth and cheeriness on these bleak, cold, white and
brown days. So I researched the color meanings of magenta. It was an
interesting read. I am using quotes from the articles I found as the basis for this journal.

Working with Magenta
Next I needed to
decide on what colors I wanted this journal to contain besides magenta and
its variations. I know I don't like brown with it. That reminds me of
the slices of Neapolitan (strawberry/chocolate/vanilla) ice cream we
would sometimes get with school lunch when I was in elementary school.
Always delicious, but never visually appealing to me. I like magenta with orange,
but am not feeling that combination right now. I'm never far from
including green (in its many variations) in any artwork, as it is my favorite color.
I love using black, white and gray with greens so decided to use these
too. Finally, I chose purple and peacock/teal blue as accent colors.

The Format
If you read my blog posts you may remember that I mentioned creating my Identity Visual Journal after reading two articles in Somerset Studio's Autumn 2013 issue of Art Journaling Magazine. One of the articles was written by Kelly Kilmer. I have been reading her blog since then and looking at the online courses she offers. They all sound wonderful and they are offered at a very reasonable price. I decided to sign up for one of the classes - The Journey Within: A Guide to Unlocking Your Creativity. Her classes offer instructions on creating visual or art journals, based on her journals. She provides templates for each page along with step by step instructions on how she created her page. Kelly provides a long list of things to try and how to change it up. Wanting to stretch my boundaries and do something a little different than the way I have been working, I thought this would be a fun way to try something new. Kelly also gives instructions on how to create a book from scratch. I think each class offered provides a different type of book construction. This particular one is one that I have not seen before and I know I will use it often. Wanting to get started right away on the journal, however, I forewent this step and used a Strathmore spiral bound visual journal that I had on hand. It is small - 6" x 8".

The Journal
I've created 5 pages so far following Kelly's templates. Having these templates to work from makes it easy to work in the journal. The need to figure out how best to layout the page is eliminated as you follow the template. There are thirty pages worth of templates. I will post what I've done in groups of five pages as I complete them.

What's In A Name?

Why Honeysuckle Cottage and Wisteria Studio?

Honeysuckle grows on a trellis on the north side of the front porch. Each June its creamy yellow trumpet flowers give off their heavenly fragrance. I can never get enough of it. Cottage refers to our home. Small by today's American standards, it is perfect for us. This place is where I am me. Wisteria grows on a trellis on the outdoor papermaking area that Bob built for me as an anniversary gift. Studio - whether papermaking, drawing, printing, painting, photographing or collaging, I am able to work primarily at home and that is such a blessing.

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I am a papermaker, printmaker, mixed media artist, horticulturist, amateur naturalist, wife and mother. I love God and the world he created. I delight in discovering and learning new things every day. It is my goal to share these joys with others. That is why I have created these blogs. I would really like to hear from you; it is my hope that these blogs become communities where we share thoughts on these topics together. Please consider posting a comment. Thanks